Fallout
by wildhorses
Summary: My version of 'Leave it to Beaver' so there are the obvious spoilers of how the season ended, vague allusion as to who the killer is. Who's at the door? What will happen to Veronica in the aftermath? read on and see! Chapter 3 up!
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is my first fanfiction ever, and I'm not even sure I like it. It's just something I wrote quickly to get the creative juices flowing. Love it, hate it, please press the little button at the bottom of the page and let me know. A big thanks to Simply Lily for convincing me too write something. I never thought a Veronica Mars fic would be the first I posted. I always figured it would be a Stargate fic. But that's not the point. I hope you enjoy this, or at least find it's pathetic nature amusing. Disclaimer: Veronica Mars belongs to Rob Thomas. This is strictly a work of fiction created from my own mind for amusement (hopefully) purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended. 

Veronica limped through the doorway of her apartment at the end of what had turned out to be one of the worst days of her life. She griped the frame of the door as the room spun before her. The left side of her face was covered in a large purple bruise, and her eye had begun to swell. She was bleeding slightly from a gash on her forehead. All in all, she looked like she had gone three rounds with Mike Tyson.

Through the pain that was clouding her mind, Veronica tried to make sense of the nights' events. It was only now sinking in that she had done it. She had finally caught the murderer, and he was going to pay.

Her mother appeared in front of her, interrupting her thoughts. Lianne was concerned. She wanted to know what had happened, where Keith was. All of this barely registered with Veronica. Her thoughts now lay on the past afternoon, and the water bottle filled with vodka. It had been a shocking moment to discover that her mom was still drinking. The realization had been as bitter as the drink in her hand. She had trusted her, spent her _college _money to help her, bring her home. It was too much for Veronica to handle. It would be too much for her father to have to deal with when he returned from the hospital. So Veronica did what she had to do to survive, like she always did. She told her mother to leave. And just like that, her dreams of life returning to normal were gone.

As she walked into her bedroom, the door slamming shut behind her, her thoughts returned to the past day. None of the events were what Veronica had expected. Things weren't turning out the way they were supposed to. _'Get a grip Mars! You didn't really expect things to return to the fluffy cotton candy version of life, of the pre-Lily's death era, did you?' _The truth was, she had. Solve the crime, get revenge that would bring her mom home, bring Lily back. That's what it had been all about. But Lily wasn't coming back, ever. And that realization hurt more than any of Aaron's blows ever had.

Veronica sank down on to her bed. She was too exhausted to even cry. She soon fell into a restless sleep.

She was floating on a raft in the middle of a pool. Water-lilys' dotted the surface of the rippling water. And there beside her, stretched out in the sun, wearing a pink bikini was Lily. She looked down at herself. She was wearing a matching suit.

"Isn't it better, like this?" Veronica asked.

"So much better." Lily responded

"This is how it's supposed to be." Veronica commented. Thinking that it would have been this way, if not for Aaron. She again wondered, for the thousandth time, what life would be like if Lily hadn't died.

"Totally." Lily said

"This is how it's gonna be. From now on. Right? Lily?" Veronica asked, seeking reassurance.

Lily sighed. "You know how things are gonna be now, don't you? You have to know."

"Just like this. Just like this." Veronica replied hopefully, desperately holding on to the moment. She had a niggling feeling this was the last time Lily would be visiting her.

"Don't forget about me, Veronica." Lily said, confirming Veronica's thoughts.

And then, just like that, she was gone. Realizing someone is gone and letting them go are completely different things. Letting go is by far the more difficult of the two. Perhaps that was why, Veronica thought, she had clung so desperately to revenge. It was her way of holding on to Lily. And now that she had achieved her goal, she didn't know what to do with the rest of her life. She felt relieved, fulfilled and empty all at once.

"I could never." Veronica said, finally, to the empty pool, as a single tear streamed down her face. And it was true, Lily could never be forgotten.

Veronica awoke with a start. There was a loud banging filling the small apartment. Somehow, Veronica's sleep addled mind realized the banging was someone at the door. She rolled over in bed and glanced at the clock, 3:07 glared back at her in fluorescent red. Veronica rolled out of bed and padded down the hall to the door. She swung it open and stared up at the person in front of her.

Before she could stop herself, the words had left her mouth, "I was hoping it would be you."

Logan stared down at her. He was obviously drunk, though he looked absolutely decimated, not angry. His face resembled Veronica's in that it too was covered in bruises. This was one time Veronica was sorry she was that much shorter than him.

As Logan stood there staring at Veronica, he wondered why he was there. She was the last person he wanted to see, and yet there he stood, at her front door. She looked like hell, and he wondered what had happened to her.

"Been chasing bail jumpers again?" He sneered before he could stop himself.

"Did you come all the way out here for a social call at three in the morning, or is there a point to your visit?" She snapped back at him.

Logan stared at her. She had obviously just woken up, but she was still as fiery as ever. That was what he lov… no don't think about that.

His eyes went cold and his whole demeanor seemed to change. He looked defeated. Veronica had only seen this side of Logan once before, when he had realized his mother wasn't ever coming back. She wondered why he suddenly looked so hopeless. _'Don't kid yourself Mars. You're the reason he's standing there looking like a kid who dropped his ice cream cone.' _

As he remembered what had brought them to this point, Logan had the over-whelming urge to run, get as far away from Neptune as he could. He should have been mad, he should have wanted to make her pay, make her hurt the way he did. But instead he just wanted to leave. He didn't want to ever have to think about Veronica Mars again.

"I came to say goodbye." He said, slightly surprised that the words had actually come out.

Veronica seemed as shocked bye his statement as he was.

"What?" she exclaimed. This was _not _how this was supposed to happen.

"Ciao, adiós, au revoir, see ya later!" Logan quipped.

With that he turned and walked away. Veronica yelled after him frantically "Logan!"

This was definitely _not _how things were supposed to turn out. Logan didn't even look back. Veronica closed the door and slid to the floor. For the first time since Logan had appeared, she wondered if he knew about his father and Lily. She wondered how he had been roughed up. She wondered if she would ever get the chance to ask him. Finally, the tears came. It seemed there were no happily ever after's, and for once, that wasn't okay. After all she had been through Veronica wanted her happy ending, as mushy as it may seem. _'After all, you know what they say. Veronica Mars, she's a marshmallow.'_


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Well, here's chapter 2. I wasn't sure if I was going to add anymore, but then this came to me and begged to be written. I don't think I've resolved anything in this chapter, so you may get another few chapters, no promises though. This has come out a lot 'angstier' than I had intended at first, but i think that's alright. The end of Leave it to Beaver set up a lot of things that I think will lead to a lot of angst. I want to say thanks to everyone who has reviewed (all three of you. lol. thanks so much. your feedback means so much and has encouraged me to keep going.) Enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to press the button at the bottom of the page and tell me what you think! I'm encouraged to work faster by reviews. Seriously, it's like fuel or something :D. Disclaimer: Veronica Mars in it's entirety belongs to Rob Thomas, UPN and numerous others I'm sure. I am only borrowing the characters for entertainment (hopefully!) purposes. The plot line for the story is the only thing belonging to me. 

Logan slammed the car door as hard as he could and tore out of the parking lot of Veronica's apartment. The yellow X-Terra whizzed along the empty streets, heading for the highway that would take him away from Neptune. Away from his family, away from his so called 'friends' away from Veronica and her accusations. At this point, everything was a blur to Logan, though he wasn't sure if that was an affect from his little drinking binge or his heated 'discussion' with Veronica. He turned the radio on, and was met with loud, angry music. It pulsed through the vehicle. This was what he needed. Angry punk rock, the theme songs of his escape from Neptune.

The music came to an end. Logan cursed. Without the loud beat to distract him, his thoughts would wander back to Veronica. And that was dangerous territory, it hurt too much. Now some stupid newscaster was yammering away.

"And in a surprising turn of events this evening, the Sheriffs Department has arrested another party in the murder of Lillian Kane. This evening, millionaire actor Aaron Echolls, was arrested and charged with the murder. The Sheriff is expected to make a statement about the arrest later this evening. Details are still sketchy at the moment, but rumor is Aaron Echolls was having an affair with the under-aged girl."

Logan slammed on the brakes. The car screeched to a halt in the middle of the road. Logan's head spun. He had to have heard wrong. He wasn't paying attention, the announcer was wrong. This couldn't be happening! His father and Lily? Oh God. The radio announcer's voice continued to blare out of the speakers, snapping him back to reality.

"This may have been a factor in the motive for her slaying."

"Lillian Kane's death made headlines throughout the last year after she was found brutally murdered in her home in Neptune. Lily Kane was the only daughter of software billionaire Jake Kane and his wife Celeste. Shortly after her death last year, the Sheriff's Department arrested one Abel Koontz for her murder. He was arrested on an anonymous tip, and is now sitting on death row."

"The events leading up to Mr. Echoll's arrest are as twisted as the crime itself. We have heard reports that is was Veronica Mars, daughter of former sheriff Keith Mars, who discovered the identity of Lily Kane's true killer. When Mr. Echolls learned of Ms. Mars plans to go to the police, he reportedly tried to burn her alive. We have no word on her condition at present time." _'Guess it wasn't bail jumpers after all.'_ Logan thought.

"We'll be back to cover the Sheriff's press conference within the hour. We now return to our regular music program." The music began blaring again, though Logan hardly noticed.

Logan stared out the window. How could this be happening? Oh God, Lily and his father! The thoughts of them swirled around in his mind. It was just too much for him to handle, yet he couldn't stop thinking about them together. Suddenly the inside of the car seemed too small. He felt closed in, and that overwhelming urge to escape was back. Logan leapt out of the car, once again slamming the door. He looked around, and immediately recognized his surroundings. In his mad dash to escape Neptune he had ended up back on the Coronado Bridge.

--- _Logan swayed slightly as he stood on the edge of bridge. He looked down into the vast blue waters. He took another swig from his flask, and glanced back down. As he teetered on the edge, he wondered what his mother had thought as she stood where he was now. It didn't really matter though, did it? She was gone now, and he soon would be too. The water churned below him, both powerful and foreboding. As he continued to sway dangerously close to the edge, he heard a rumble in the distance. He glanced up and saw a group of motorcycles appear on the bridge._

'_Great. The weasel's come to give me a shove in the right direction,' he thought. _

_Logan turned to face Weevil, a look of mocking contempt on his face. _

"_Seriously, what do you-what do you think you can do to me, huh?" Logan laughed bitterly._

_Weevil eyed Logan. He nodded at him, not a bit amused._

"_I'll think of something." He spat out menacingly._

_Logan turned still balancing on the ledge; he struck a very Matrix like pose and beckoned to Weevil. _

"_Come on, 'padres' do your worst!"_

_Weevil leapt forward and grabbed Logan by his shirt. He dragged him off the ledge onto solid ground, and hit him. _

"_You killed her, you rich son-of-a-bitch! And now you're gonna pay." ----_

Everything after that was a bit of a blur. Logan could remember Weevil's boot connecting with his ribs a few times, and waking up –when had he lost consciousness? - at the side of the road. Then he had gotten into his car and driven to Veronica's. Veronica. Even just thinking about her was enough send his mind spinning yet again. She knew it wasn't him. Somehow she had stumbled onto the truth, that it was his father who was responsible. Where did that leave them now? He didn't even want to think about it. Thinking of Veronica brought back memories of Lily, and that lead to memories of his father. This only led to Logan picturing Lily and his father together. Something he _never _wanted to think about again.

He glanced up again. Somehow, while deep in his thoughts, he had gravitated to the edge of the bridge. He glanced over the side. The waters still churned, the angry waves crashed into the banks. The blue swirling waters and white caps seemed to mock him. He had stood here mere hours ago, prepared to jump. But had he really been going to jump? Wouldn't he have just done it right away, without thinking if he had really meant too? Who really knew.

Logan continued to stare down at the water. He was mesmerized by the swirling, dancing waves. Staring into the water he saw his mother jumping, Veronica comforting him, laughing with him, kissing him, passionately. He saw her standing in her doorway, telling him she'd been raped. He saw her standing on the beach after he discovered she had turned him in. The betrayal was still fresh in his mind, and it hurt. He saw her bruised face as he stood on her doorstep at three in the morning.

The water swirled, shades of blue, green, grey and white crashing together, fighting for dominance. In the warring waves he saw Lily laughing, he saw her yelling at him, he saw her lying in a pool of blood. What he saw changed yet again. His father was now featured in the waves. Images of his father laughing cruelly, hitting him, yelling at his mother, and finally, sleeping with Lily, bombarded him.

He stepped up onto the ledge of the bridge where he had been hours before. This time, his mind was free from the cloud of alcohol. He stared down into the waters, willing the images to stop. But they kept coming, faster and faster. He had to make it stop. It was ironic, really, that he was going to finish the job he had started in a drunken moment, stone cold sober. _'Guess chardonnay and sleeping pills isn't my thing either.'_


	3. Chapter 3

AN: To kill Logan, or not to kill Logan, that was the question! Read on to find out the answer. Sorry this update took so long, but it really did take some time to decide what to do with Logan. And then I had to rework this a bit. Well, anyway, I hope you like the result. I don't know if this is the end or not. I'd be happy to leave it off here, but I could always continue if I get another moment of inspiration. Thanks so much to all of you who reviewed! Can anyone catch my slight Stargate reference? 11 points if you can, hehe. I don't really think there is much crossover between VM and Stargate, so I'll be (pleasantly) surprised if anyone can get it. Well, onto the story :) Disclaimer: Veronica Mars, in it's entirety, belongs to Rob Thomas, UPN and others. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is for entertainment (hopefully!) purposes only. The plot ideas belong to me. 

The raging waters below beckoned to him. They swirled and churned both powerful and hypnotizing at the same time. Logan stepped forward, intent on ending the constant flow of images that haunted him. The next thing he knew, he was lying flat on his back. He had landed on the hard, cold pavement of the bridge, and he was pretty sure he had had some help getting there. As he stared up at the darkened sky, an all to familiar face appeared above him.

"What the helldo you think you're doing!"? Veronica yelled.

"It's obvious. Come on Mars! And you call yourself a detective?" Logan sneered at her.

Veronica stared down at him, lying on the ground. She wondered if she was the reason he had been about to take a little dip in the stormy waters below. Or could he know about Lily? Was that what had driven him to this point?

"Ahh! No." He exclaimed before she could speak. "Don't even start; just leave. Go on; scurry off. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got an urgent appointment to meet my maker." Logan said, as he picked himself up off the ground.

"The only way I'm leaving is if you come with me. And don't think I'll hesitate to use force. I brought Backup." She said, gesturing toward her car. Logan snorted at the notion of the 5'1" blonde dragging him off the bridge and home. Home. To his father's house, the last place on earth he wanted to be. His face fell.

"What makes you think I want to go anywhere with you, Mars? And anyway, aren't I the big, bad murder? You really want to take a chance being alone with me? Aren't you afraid I might kill you too!" He yelled, his tone mocking.

He knew perfectly well Veronica knew the identity of the real killer, hell, she was the one who had figured it out. But he wanted to hurt her. He wanted to bring up her betrayal and drive her away. He wanted to remind her that he hadn't forgotten about it. He should have jumped when he had the chance. The last thing he wanted to do was have an argument with Veronica Mars on the side of the Coronado Bridge.

Veronica winced and stood there staring at him. She felt as though she had been slapped. His words stung, mostly because they rang true. She had accused him of murder, how could she expect him to behave as though nothing had happened? That was what she had expected when he had shown up at her door. And she had foolishly still expected him to forgive and forget. And yet, while she felt bad about going to the police, she would do it again. That was where the evidence had led her, even though her gut had screamed otherwise. And after the past year, everything she had learned and been through, there wasn't anyone she could trust completely, no matter how much she wanted to.

"What did you expect me to think Logan? For more than a year you were my worst tormentor, then all of a sudden we're buddy buddy and making out in the girls room! We went from 0 to 100 in 60 seconds flat!" She sighed, pausing briefly.

"And then there was the incident at your 'birthday party'. When I found those cameras in the pool house I… and then, well then I found out your alibi didn't hold up and you never said anything. And I wanted to trust you, I really did, but I just couldn't with all the evidence saying something else!" Veronica rushed through the last part. She opened her mouth to say more, but Logan interrupted her.

"Wait, wait a minute. Go back to the part about the cameras. There are camera's in the pool house?"

Veronica hesitated. Explaining about the cameras would surely lead to questions about what they were used for, and it would put Veronica in the unfortunate position of having to deliver the news about Lily to Logan. She looked down at the ground.

"Well, Logan, I, I found the cameras after you left to get a drink that night. There was a recorder in behind the cabinet. That's why I left, I, I thought it was all an act, that you just wanted me there for some homemade porn tape to show to Dick and the others…" Veronica said hesitantly. She looked up at him, but Logan had turned around and was facing the edge of the bridge again. He was staring out toward the water, a faraway look on his face. He turned back to Veronica and laughed. It was a bitter, strangled sound.

"Son-of-a-bitch! He did it. He set up those damn cameras! I guess he couldn't get enough of himself on big screen." Logan turned back to her, a look of utter panic on his face.

"A..a..are there tapes? Are there tapes of him and Lily together?" Logan asked timidly. He was afraid to hear the answer even though he already knew what it would be. Somehow the idea that there were tapes would make his father and Lily together all the more real.

'_Well, I guess that answer's one question. He knows about his father and Lily's affair. But does he know about the murder?'_

Before she could say anything, Logan had started speaking again.

"I know. I know that he killed her, oh God. I heard it on the radio and, and then I heard about what he tried to do to you…. and, and I just needed some air and I pulled over. Ironic how I ended up here, someone out there had a good laugh about it." He said.

Veronica took a step closer to him. If she could just get him far away from that damn ledge she would feel much more comfortable. To her immense relief, Logan sank down onto the ground. He sat with his back to the ledge, leaning against the guardrail of the bridge. Veronica approached him, and when he didn't object, sat down next to him.

"You know, it seemed a little cold out tonight for a swim, and that outfit is the poorest excuse for a swimsuit that I've ever seen." Veronica joked. Logan chuckled.

"Thanks. For snapping me out of it I mean. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it all, you know?"

"Mhmm." Veronica mumbled.

For the first time, Logan was glad he hadn't jumped. Correction, glad he had been prevented from jumping. That would have been the easy way out. He stared down at Veronica sitting beside him. She had turned him in, but he could understand that. It was her nature to follow the evidence, and after what he had put her through, a few brief moments of passion weren't enough to build a lasting trust. He had already forgiven her. He had forgiven her when he had turned up on her doorstep after everything that had happened; he just hadn't realized it until now. He could very easily love her. Oh, who was he kidding, he already did.

"C'mere" Logan said as he put his arm around her.

Veronica leaned into his side. They were both a mess, emotionally and physically. There would be a lot more problems to come. But they were in it together, and at the moment, that was all that mattered to Veronica. They had a lot more to talk about, well, if she was being honest, yell about. None of that mattered. As she sat on the bridge, with Logan, very much alive, at her side, she was content. _'It's no happily ever after, but it's as close as I'm ever gonna get.' _And for Veronica, that was enough.

And then Logan jumped off the bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . just kidding. Hehe, sorry I couldn't resist. Though he may feel the strong urge to jump again, but never fear, you can save him. Simply press the button at the bottom and review! Tell me what you think, I love to hear ideas and thoughts including criticisms from the readers. :) 


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